Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle: Addressing Constipation in the Opioid Era

Approximately 50 million adults in the United States reported experiencing chronic pain in 2016 while 19.6 million U.S. adults reported experiencing high-impact chronic pain that resulted in a hindrance to at least one major life event, according to statistics from the CDC. These extreme numbers lead some experts to call this timeframe an era of chronic pain.Prescription opioids are typically used to treat patients with moderate-to-severe pain and are often prescribed to patients following surgery, injury or a cancer diagnosis.Since 2006, there has been a steady increase in the overall